The author argues that at least since the 14 th century, one can speak of great differ-
ences in the development of the relationship between Eastern Orthodoxy and political au-
thorities. Whereas Eastern Orthodoxy in the present-day Russia always tried to distance itself
from the western influences, its counterpart in Lithuania and Poland mainly embraced such
influences. This became particularly visible during the late 16th and the first half of the 17 th
century. Western patterns and Ukrainian hierarchs also strongly shaped the politics of Peter
the Great towards the Eastern Orthodox church. Its lack of any meaningful autonomy in re-
lationship with state authorities since 1721 remained characteristic for centuries to come.
Therefore, the Ukrainian-Russia church conflict since 1990 has a much longer prehistory.
Of course, the autocephalous Ukrainian church was also forced to rely heavily on the help
of the state authorities.
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